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A simple SEO checklist

Our #SearchSecret7 campaign is a series of blog posts aimed at partner agencies wanting to get to grips with search marketing, and offer it as an new service. This week, we look at the SEO checks you should make on an existing website to maximise its potential within the search engines.

First up, it’s worth saying that it’s best to establish a comprehensive search strategy when a site is being designed and developed. But for a variety of reasons, that doesn’t always happen. Perhaps you’re a web agency that’s been asked to refresh a site with new branding, and the client has asked you to look at traffic volumes. Or maybe a PR agency that’s been handed a newly created campaign microsite by the client, only to find it’s not getting any hits.

We’ve put together the following checklist of questions to ask which helps to establish whether the correct SEO foundations are in place.

The questions on these lists are not relevant to each and every client, so it’s not necessary to go through everything line by line. But they will be a good indicator if there is room for improvement. It goes without saying that we can help you if that is the case!

SEO checklist fundamentals

  • Is Google Analytics 4 (GA4) set up? GA4 provides insights into website traffic and user behaviour, including search engine performance. Make sure it’s tracking key events for a comprehensive view.
  • Has Google Search Console been configured? This tool highlights site issues, such as crawling errors, and provides data on how the site performs in search.
  • Is Google Tag Manager in place? GTM simplifies the process of adding and managing marketing tags (like GA4, remarketing pixels, or heatmaps) without altering the site’s core code.
  • For WordPress sites, is an SEO plugin installed? Plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All-in-One SEO can help create optimised content, manage metadata, and improve on-page SEO.Keywords and Content Optimisation
  • Has keyword research been done? Identify terms your audience is searching for and map one primary keyword to each page. Consider tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush or Ahrefs.
  • Are keywords included in the following?
  • Title Tags: These are the clickable headlines in search results.
  • URLs: Keep URLs concise and keyword-rich when possible.
  • Meta Descriptions: Write engaging snippets for users, as search engines may rewrite them.
  • H1 Tags: Ensure the primary keyword is included in the page’s main heading.
  • Page Copy: Use keywords naturally and support them with related terms and concepts.
  • Image ALT Text: Describe images with keywords to improve accessibility and SEO.
  • Are internal links optimised? Use descriptive anchor text that aligns with the target page’s topic. For example, link “eco-friendly packaging solutions” rather than generic phrases like “click here.”

Speed, sitemaps and the Google Search console

  • Are there crawl errors, duplicate content errors or missing titles? The Google Search console can provide information on these.
  • Is the site mobile-friendly? If the site can’t adapt to difference screen sizes and shapes, this will impact usability.
  • Is speed an issue? It takes an average of 19 seconds to load a page on a 3G network. But 50% of users will abandon a website if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. Compressing images is often a good place to start if pages are taking a long time to load.
  • Is there an XML sitemap? Submitting an XML sitemap to the Google Search Console will help search engines understand the structure of the site.
  • Is there a robots.txt file? Alongside the XML sitemap, this enables the website owner to control the way a search engine crawls and indexes the site. It also needs to be submitted to the Google Search Console.
  • Have you looked at competitors’ link profiles? Check Moz’s Link Explorer to find out where successful competitors get their most authoritative links, and where the client may gain similar links.

What’s coming next?

Our #SearchSecret7 series continues next week when we’ll be looking at targeting, the small budget secret weapon.

Meanwhile, check out our other posts in the  #SearchSecret7 series:

Follow #SearchSecret7 and stay tuned.  Image by StockSnap from Pixabay